Summary of the data set

The data set is from the Canadian Ice Thickness Program. The data has been collected weekly since 1947. The program was updated in 2002, so we are only looking at data prior to the update. Ice thickness is measured to the nearest centimetre using one of two methods; special auger kit or hot wire ice thickness gauge.

Data overview

Our data set has a range of dates from 1984 - 1996. There are several different stations at which measurements are taken.

Data value ranges

We have 5112 ice thickness measurements. The mean ice thickness over all dates is ~93.26. The standard deviation is ~57.63, and the measurements range from 0 - 345.

Data types and completeness

Each row has a Date, Station ID, and a Station Name. There are 66 rows that are missing an Ice Thickness measurement.

Variables and interactions

Most of the rows have the same Measurement Method, but there are some that are missing the method or have a different method. We will need to make sure we are only using rows with the same measurement in our sample.

Exploratory analysis of Ice Thickness

To better understand our data and to determine how to sample it we explored:

  1. Number of ice thickness measurements per date
  2. Number of stations per date
  3. Distribution of ice thickness over all time
  4. Distribution of ice thickness for each date of interest
  5. General change in ice thickness over time

We removed records with Measurement Method not equal to 1 in order to make sure the measurement method we are looking at is consistent. We also removed all records missing an Ice Thickness measurement.

Stations

Stations vary over the years but seem relatively consistent. Some stations seem to be replaced over time, but the stations with the majority of measurements have records for each year.